Brook Lopez: “I sleep all the time, sometimes 10 or 11 (hours). I took a sleep and dreams class at Stanford — this sounds like a joke, but it taught me how to balance the hours you work with the hours you sleep, and how it relates to performance. They monitored me and other athletes for three months. Great class. Basically, the more sleep the better.”

Ethan J. Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Forget where he plays on the floor. Small forward, power forward, he can score from either spot. The important thing is where he is in his life, and that he (begin ital) moves (and ital) forward, in terms of maturity. After a half-step backward, that appears to be occurring. That’s critical not only for the Heat to get significant return on its investment in him, but also could affect whether Wade re-invests in the franchise next summer. ‘I like what he’s done,’ coach Erik Spoelstra recently said of Beasley. Other Heat officials, who spoke privately of frustration with Beasley’s unreliability as a rookie, have also spoken of seeing a different side since his return, as if he’s been scared straight. He’s in better shape physically, which will allow Spoelstra to play him for longer stretches. Mentally and emotionally? Before Beasley could be trusted as a core player, maybe he needed to be rocked to the core, shamed publicly into taking his career more seriously. He’s still got a goofy streak. Don’t sweat that. Let him sing Sponge Bob songs. Let him chase after Wade with a snake, as he did at Family Fest. That kid stuff’s fine, so long as he shows other signs of turning into a pro. On the floor, Spoelstra has observed quicker application from practices to games. Off the floor? As a rookie, he focused more on living the life than learning the craft, acting as if he’d already made it. He quickly began building a luxury automobile fleet, nearly a dozen vehicles strong. Now acutely aware of Uncle Sam’s share of his salary, he has started selling some off, while stunning acquaintances with his newfound attention to money management. Insiders say that he’s stopped using age as a crutch, and started taking accountability.”

Brandon Jennings will open the season as Milwaukee’s starting PG, reports Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “Skiles said one reason he opted for Jennings was to allow him to benefit from the experience of the starting unit, while Ridnour should feel comfortable with either the first or second unit. Ridnour played in 72 games with the Bucks last season and made 50 starts. Jennings shot only 33% (30 of 91) during the preseason, including just 25% (6 of 24) from the three-point range. He said he has to adjust his game and not worry so much about his offense. ‘Coach (Kelvin) Sampson said I shouldn’t shoot any threes this year unless it’s at the end of the shot clock or it’s a wide-open shot,’ Jennings said. ‘I’ve been working on my shot every day. I’m not really shooting any threes. I’m shooting 15- to 18-footers, and I’ve got to start knocking them down, because everybody is going to be doubling on Redd.’”